Do I need lots of work experience to get into medical school?

This is a very good question and one that lots of people worry about. Getting some work experience before applying to medical school is good for two main reasons. Firstly, it should give you more of an idea what practicing as a doctor would be like and so help you work out if medicine is something you’d be interested in. Personally, I also found that it was very useful to keep me motivated during my studies.The other reason is that it is very good to have some work experience to talk about on your personal statement and at a medical school interview. However, it is more about quality than quantity - if you have one or two good pieces of work experience and you can say a small amount about what each taught you that should be fine.

OE
Answered by Ollie E. Medical School Preparation tutor

1359 Views

See similar Medical School Preparation Mentoring tutors

Related Medical School Preparation Mentoring answers

All answers ▸

I haven't got any work experience in hospitals - will that affect my ability to apply to medical school?


How do interviews work?


I want to apply to medical school. Can you help me?


a) What are the key things your learned from your work experience? b) Imagine yourself as a junior doctor, you have just finished a shift and check your phone to find one of your patients has added you on facebook. How do you respond to this?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning